Willow (1988) reveiw
August 25th 2010 17:17
George Lucas is perhaps one of the most well known and successful filmmakers in recent history, in the 80's he was the go-to man for imaginative
film making. In the mid-80's he was on top of the world, his Star Wars trilogy had made history, and Indiana Jones was doing just as well with moviegoers worldwide. Rolling in dough and having the movie industry by the scruff of the neck, he had his choice of movies to make next. He'd already made sci-fi film history, and he'd already had some success with Labyrinth in 1986, so why not conquer the world of Fantasy film making?
Willow was a project Lucan had toyed with for years, and once he secured the participation of well known director Ron Howard and talented (but very young) leading man Warwick Davis, as well as his legendary special effects team at ILM it looked like Lucas had another blockbuster ready to be unleashed.
The story was an original story, the evil Queen Bavmorda had conquered most of the known world, but there was a prophesy that a child would be born, Elora Dannan who would be the empress of the kingdom of Tir Asleen and bring down the evil queen. However the queen was ready for this little wrinkle, and ordered all the expecting women in the realm imprisoned, and their newborns inspected for the mark that will identify the infant empress. As the Child is finaly born her mother, through a bit of skullduggery, escapes with the child and set her afloat down a river, where it is eventually found by Willow Ufgood, the star of the film. From there, poor Willow is separated from his family, as he must return the child to the outside world that his people rarely interacts with. His adventure is a deep and engrossing fantasy, a deeper story than one usually finds in Hollywood fantasy efforts.
Lucas had Warwick Davis in mind for the role of Willow since he met him on the set of “Return fo the Jedi” and it was a good choice. While Davis rarely gets a chance to show off his acting skills, he shines here as a leading man. To match the three foot star, Lucas and Howard put out a casting call for every little person performer they could find (Including fellow Star Wars alumni Kenny Baker, R2D2 himself). The Elwyn village was built to scale to the little people and hundreds of pint-sized actors, stuntmen and even musicians helped sell the fantasy world. It's done so effectivly that one almost sees the Elwyn as normal, and everyone else as abnormally tall. Val Kilmer has a role as Madmartican, the dashing swordsman of the tale. Even in this early role he steals the show, playing the dashing hero with surprising skill. The special effects are stunning as can be expected from any film of the period.
Sadly, while all the parts for a blockbuster where there, they never quite came together. The storytelling is somewhat sloppy, and while at times we genuinely care for the characters, the film seems to wander aimlessly and the story
feels very incomplete. It gets right up to the edge of being capturing your attention, but never quite gets you to care. When Willow was released it got quite a fanfare, and some merchandising, but never was a financial success. Originally planned to be a trilogy, the financial failure of the first film put a stop to that, and the sequels only appeared as novels co-written by Lucas and comic book writer Chris Clearmont, so if your interested in parts two and three the story does at least go on in some form.
It's a shame to see a movie like Willow not quite come together, there are scant talks of the sequel, and Lucas certainly would want it, with the resurgence of Star Wars to the limelight anything is possible right? Personaly, I think it's still wishful thinking at this point. Willow may have failed at the box office, but it's cult following keeps it alive. As long as there are geeks like myself with a taste for the obscure, Ron Howard and George Lucas's lost masterpiece won't be forgotten.
If I ever get a van I'm getting this painted on the side,
The story was an original story, the evil Queen Bavmorda had conquered most of the known world, but there was a prophesy that a child would be born, Elora Dannan who would be the empress of the kingdom of Tir Asleen and bring down the evil queen. However the queen was ready for this little wrinkle, and ordered all the expecting women in the realm imprisoned, and their newborns inspected for the mark that will identify the infant empress. As the Child is finaly born her mother, through a bit of skullduggery, escapes with the child and set her afloat down a river, where it is eventually found by Willow Ufgood, the star of the film. From there, poor Willow is separated from his family, as he must return the child to the outside world that his people rarely interacts with. His adventure is a deep and engrossing fantasy, a deeper story than one usually finds in Hollywood fantasy efforts.
Sadly, while all the parts for a blockbuster where there, they never quite came together. The storytelling is somewhat sloppy, and while at times we genuinely care for the characters, the film seems to wander aimlessly and the story
Warwick Davis, he's a complicated man, and no one understands him but his woman
It's a shame to see a movie like Willow not quite come together, there are scant talks of the sequel, and Lucas certainly would want it, with the resurgence of Star Wars to the limelight anything is possible right? Personaly, I think it's still wishful thinking at this point. Willow may have failed at the box office, but it's cult following keeps it alive. As long as there are geeks like myself with a taste for the obscure, Ron Howard and George Lucas's lost masterpiece won't be forgotten.
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